Hand County press. (Miller, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1893, 1887-08-18
HOW TO LEARN TO SWIM.
Bsys and Giris who want to Woo tf
Waves Should Carefully Road This.


Waves should Carefully Road This.
Books are full Of elaborate directions
for learning to swim, and in tho large
cities there are schools where the art can
be acquired at all seasons Of the year, but
1t is safe to say that any child having or
dinary courage can safely be taught or
can teach himself to swim by the follow
ing simple method:
Find place where the water dcepens
gradually, as an ordinary beach. Often
In small stream there ore pools nowhere
too deep for safety. Procure band or
belt to go around the bust under tho
arms, with small bands over the shoul-
ders TO keep it from slipping down. To
this belt attach safety line of such
length that the learner cannot 60 into the
water deeper than the waist.
The first thing to be done is to learn to
duck without minding ii. Hold your
breath and put your head under water
several times whenever you bathe. You
may probably strangle a bit at first. but
the ducking will become less and less
disagreeablc until the disinclination to go
under water nearly or quite disappears.
OF course the bather need not make q
martyr OF himself by spending his whole
time in the practice Of ducking. Ho
may splash about as much as he likes.
Some acquire the necessary indifference
to being under water almost at once.
When it is acquired let the bather select
place where the water Il just deep
enough for him to sit upon the bottom
with head and shoulders out of water.
Then let him take full breath, distend.
ing the lungs, and, placing his arms by
his sides, lie down on his back on the
bottom. II unsuccessful, partially expel
the air from the lungs and try again.
After having found out by actual expert
ment how easy it Is to lie down on your
back under water, go out TO the full
length os your rope and, holding your
breath. pull yourself in toward the shore,
hand over hand, not letting your feet
touch bottom on any account until your
breath gives out or you run aground.
No matter whether you go under water
or not, no matter whether you keep your
self right side up or not, 60 right on
hauling yourself toward tho shore, hand
over hand, till you reach shoal water.
When you can run yourself ashore
with ease and certainty you will prob
ably have discovered that most of the
passage is made at or near the surface of
the water, and possibly you will have
learned after fashion to keep your bal
anoe and pull yourself ashore with your
nose above water. When you can do
this. you can breathe through your nose
during the passage, and rs soon as you
can breathe comfortably while hauling
yourself ashore you are ready for the
next step, namely, try to pull yourself
ashore using one hand for the rope and
padding with the other hand. This Is
not q very easy thing to do. and In all
probability before you can accomplish II
you will find yourself padding with both
hands and kicking with both feet--that
Is to say. swimming. As soon as you
find that you can keep yourself right
side up. and your eyes and nose above
water. you have learned the great secret,
and swimming with the most approved
and scientific stroke will follow, accord
ing u your opportunities and ambition.
These hints are intended to meet the
most difficult case possible. namely, that
Of boy who is obliged to depend alto
gether upon his own resources. II he
has some one to help and advise. 30 much
tho bitter. lie will probably learn to
swim the quicker, but he must haul HIM
self ashore or the object Of the lesson win
be lost.
These directions are based upon the
we'll established fact that no one can be
confident swimmer who is disconnected
at finding himself unexpectedly under
watcr. Therefore the first thing to bc
learned is to catch the breath instinctively
under any and all circumstances the in
stant you find yourself going under water.
Strangllation occurs in consequence Of
drawing water with the breath into tho
air passages, and even partial strangula-
ton Is unpleasant. The first thing, then,
for the would be swimmer to learn is to
instipctively keep water out Of the wind
Idpo. This can best be done hy frequent
voluntary duckings.
In the rough swimming school OF boy
hood frcible duckings. often TO the verge
Of cruelty and danger, arc frequent Incl
dents, and any preliminary practice win
be an excellent breaking In for what
most boys arc likely to encounter.
INC buSCcouinR sSep8 uf6 hutenue0 10
teach the beginner by experiencing that
his body Is really lighter than water and
will foat with trifing amount Of aid
from air in the lungs and from mechani-
cal assistance with the hands and feet.
Once learned this lesson is never for
gotten. and after Little practice in diving
and swimming under water the novice
will find himself gaining degree Of con-
fidence that Is indispensable for satisfac-
tory swimming.
The foregoing is intended for girls and
women as well as for boys and men.
Women are usually, for obvious reasons,
. little reluctant to wet their hair. They
often learn 10 swim easily aud gracefully
without knowing how b hold the breath.
It follows, Of course, that when they find
themselves doused suddenly into the
water from an overturned boat, or other
wise plunged Unexpectedly beneath tho
surface, they become partly strangied,
lose all presence Of mind and arc not bet
ter of than IL they could not swim a
stroke. Let it then be borne In mind by
oil swimmers that the best way TO learn
how to swim Is first to learn how to sink.
Charles Ledger Norton in New York